Don't forget to tackle these 3 gardening tasks ahead of spring

A sunny day in winter is a great time to get out the pruners and untangle an overcrowded shrub.

A sunny day in winter is a great time to get out the pruners and untangle an overcrowded shrub. (Morton Arboretum)

Beth BottsChicago Tribune

It may be winter, but there’s still more to life than binge-watching TV. On a sunny day, bundle up and get outside for some gardening. You’ll get a head start, lift your spirits and set your mind on spring.

“It’s a good time for tasks that are best done while trees, shrubs and perennials are dormant,” said Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. You can find out more about the following tasks at www.mortonarb.org/plantadvice.

Prune shrubs. Cut back too-big shrubs, shape them up, get rid of dead wood and broken branches or detangle them by removing older stems. Just pay attention to the kind of shrub you’re pruning.

“The most important difference is bloom time,” Yiesla said. “Spring-blooming shrubs such as forsythia and lilac already have their flower buds, so if you prune them now, you’ll sacrifice some flowers this spring.”

Shrubs that bloom later in the season, such as bottlebrush buckeye and beautyberry, won’t form flower buds until spring, so pruning them now won’t affect their flowering.

Cut back ornamental grasses. Remove the brown, dry stalks from last year before new shoots appear in spring. Cut off the stalks as close to the ground level as you can. “Large grass clumps can be tough,” Yiesla said. If a sharp knife won’t do the job, try an electric hedge trimmer.

Hunt for eggs. With the leaves gone, it’s easier to spot the egg masses laid by pest insects on trees and shrubs. “If you thin the herd now, you’ll have fewer insects to deal with this summer,” she said.

Gypsy moth egg masses are soft, suedelike tan patches on the bark of deciduous trees. Scrape them off and drop them in soapy water to kill the eggs. Eastern tent caterpillars form an egg mass as a bulge around a small twig. “Prune it out,” Yiesla said. It’s most often found on trees in the rose family, such as crabapple, apple and cherry.

Viburnum leaf beetle eggs are found on the undersides of newer twigs and small branches. “The egg masses look like little footballs all lined up in a row,” Yiesla said. There’s no need to cut back the whole shrub, but prune out all twigs or branches where you see egg masses.

Walk with care. As you work in the garden, be careful where you step. Your weight can compact wet soil, squeezing out space for air that plants’ roots need.

Even if the ground is still frozen solid in most places, other areas may be partly thawed. “Don’t walk in any place where the soil is soft and wet,” Yiesla said.

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